Marceline's Struggle
by AlphaHikari
Summary: Marceline and Bubblegum set out to find the person responsible for P-bot's sudden change in behavior. Along the way, they manage to find something else as well. What they find is very precious to the both of them and something they never knew the other once had. How will things turn out?
1. Chapter 1

Marceline's POV

I woke up grumpy and had to force myself out of bed. During the night I must have stopped floating and landed on it. Not a good start to my night, and judging by how I feel, the sun must just be going down. I drag myself to the bathroom to wash up then head down to the kitchen for some food.

"Great. No strawberries," I grumbled to myself. I forgot to restock on those before I left the Candy Kingdom. The strawberries I had before are gone now because I ate them before helping Bonni beat her robot. This is just great. So I just settled for draining the red from a few apples.

Whenever I used to wake up this early in the past, I would always talk to Hambo to brighten my mood. It's times like these that I miss him the most. He was my best and oldest friend, and because of that jerk Ash, he's missing. I still can't believe that Ash would sell him to a witch. I swear, if I ever find her, I'll get my Hambo back. No matter what it costs me.

Grabbing my bass, I flew over to the Candy Kingdom to check up on Bonni and restock my red supply. Most of the streets were empty when I got there but that was to be expected of the sugar people. _It would be too easy to sneak in there and scare the little guys, _I thought as I passed another house.

At the castle, I let myself in and floated to Bonni's lab. It was too easy to get into the castle too. The Banana Guards were asleep in front of the gate; she really needs to get better protection. The lights were on so I was right to come here first. As always, Bonni will work herself to exhaustion before she lets a good mystery go unsolved. "Hey, Bon, how's it going?" I asked her.

"Marceline! You scared me. When and how did you get in here? And I don't know. I still can't figure out what went wrong with her programming."

"Ah, you know…just let myself in. Your guards really aren't that hard to sneak past. That's probably why you always get kidnapped," I said as I looked at the robot. The top of its head was pulled off to show what was probably meant to be her brain. This was some complicated stuff dude. "You know, maybe magic caused this," I suggested.

"Nonsense; magic is just science done by people who don't know what they're talking about. Magic doesn't exist."

"I'm not arguing about that, but I'm just saying that maybe someone changed her programming using magic."

"That has to be the answer because nothing in her has malfunctioned. I checked and all her systems are up and running perfectly. Who could have changed her? Who would want to?"

Those were two very good questions. They were also the questions that I didn't have the answers for. I glance at Bonni and she gives me a look that just screams _'I-know-you-can't-answer-that-but-you-will-help-me -find-out-right?' _and its working. I can't believe I'm about to pull a Finn right now.

"Look, do you want me to help you find out who did this?" And there it is. I pulled a Finn.

"Why, yes, thank you. I would very much appreciate the help," She replied. The questions of who and why would only start our adventure.

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**This will be the first ongoing story that I plan on writing. I don't know where this is going yet, though. **

**Anyway, I want to include some OCs throughout the story and I'm looking for suggestions. So please tell me about an OC that you would like for me to write in and leave some reviews :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Was it Simon?

I spent the night at the castle. Our plans were to head out this morning and pay a visit to Simon. In my mind, I knew it couldn't have been him. He's too obsessed with kidnapping princesses and crazy stuff like that to come up with a plan like this.

"You ready to go?" She asked me.

"Uh, yea, but just one question first. Why are you sure that Ice King did this again?"

"You may not know this, but a few months ago, Ice King almost ended everyone's existence. Somehow he managed to delete everyone but me and him. He thought that I would kiss him if we were the only two people left in OOO; like I would ever do that."

That did actually sound like something Simon would do to me. Maybe he isn't as nuts as I thought he was after all. "Yea, but if he liked you enough to do that, why would he sick your robot on you?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

I take that as a sign that she's ready to get the show on the road. Offering my back to her, Bonni climbs on and I fly towards the Ice Kingdom. It didn't take us too long to get there with my speed.

The Ice Kingdom is forever freezing. Even for a vampire such as myself, I feel a chill whenever I come here. It's not enough for me to throw on a jacket for, but for Bonni, she isn't that lucky. She is wearing one of the thickest pink coats she owns, dark pink thermal leggings, and snow boots the same shade as her coat. With all that heavy clothing on, she is still shivering. I kind of feel bad for her in a way.

Simon came to us less than a minute after we touched down on the snow covered ground. I swear he can sense when people just touch his snow sometimes.

"Ladies, to what do I owe the honor of such a visit? Are you here to listen to the new song I wrote?" He asked.

"Ice King, why did you send P-bot to attack me," Bonni answered with her own question; straight to business as usual. I better jump in and make sure he knows what's going on because his face is showing clear confusion.

"What she means is did you send her robot look-a-like to attack her?" I took over. It would be quicker if I dealt with him since I know him the best.

"There was a robot that looked like Princess Bubblegum that I never knew about? Gunter why didn't you tell daddy? Imagine the fun we could have had if I had brought her back here." He shouted over to his favorite penguin. I never knew how he could tell them apart since they all looked alike to me.

"Look, Simon, did you or not?"

"Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about. Say, Princess, how's about you send that robot over here? I could keep an eye on her, you know, to make sure she doesn't get in your way."

"That would be unnecessary. Marceline, we're leaving. We need to get back to the castle and think of another person who could have done this. Obviously Ice King didn't do it. He didn't even know that I created P-bot before this." Bonni told me. I sighed as she climbed on my back again. I knew this trip would be a waste of time after all.

At the castle, we went straight into her lab and she immediately started to mess with that robot again. Bonni started to mumble something about downloading memories and some other stuff before my curiosity won out, and I asked her what she was doing.

"I'm going to see if our answer is recorded in her memory software." She answered me. That sounded simple enough. We should have done this before going to see the Ice King. It would have made more sense.

I got bored with waiting on her to finish so I went back to the room I stayed in last night. There wasn't much I could help her with anyway so I doubt that she'll miss my company. In my room, I picked up my bass and played a few songs before there was a knock on my door sometime later. Bonni was on the other side when I opened it, and she looked exhausted.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"No. May I come in?"

"Sure. This is your castle. I don't see why you can't." I stepped aside so she could come in. Bonni went straight to the bed and flopped onto it. She was more tired than she looked.

"Marceline, may I ask you something?"

"Go for it." I answered as I sat beside her. She was on her side staring at me as I strummed a few random chords on my bass.

"Why did you call Ice King, Simon, earlier?"

This was a question that I wasn't ready to answer. But looking at Bonni, she looked like she needed something to take her mind off of the situation, even if it was just a distraction.

"That's a long story Bon. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I need to hear it. At the rate we're going with finding the person behind P-bot's change in programming, I may have all the time in the world to hear all of your stories."

"Ice King wasn't always the looney, obsessed kidnapper that you know him to be," I told her while setting my bass down, "A long time ago, he was a very intelligent person. His real name was Simon Petrikov and he was an archeologist. He had a normal life once, but that all fell apart when he found the crown. Bonni, that crown drove Simon crazy. If it wasn't for that piece of junk, he would have stayed the Simon that I knew."

"How did a crown turn him from someone so smart into that?"

"It didn't take over him all at once. See, during the time after the Mushroom War, this place was way different from what it is now. There were monsters everywhere. It was really dangerous. Simon found me one day crying and decided to keep me with him. I was just a kid, and would have only slowed him down, but he was kind enough to stick with me anyway. He would use the crown to protect us, even at the cost of his mind. It was just too powerful for him in the end though. All that constant use of its powers drove the Simon that I knew into madness. He began calling himself the Ice King; forgetting who I was or what we were doing; mentioning someone named Gunter; mumbling crazy things to himself. It just kept getting worse and worse until I woke up one day and he was gone. All I had left of him was this stuffed toy I named Hambo."

"If the Ice King, no Simon, was really that special to you, why did you just let everyone think he was just some crazy old man?"

"Because this all happened like a thousand years ago. No one would believe me if I told them. I'm the scary Vampire Queen in the end. I wouldn't be able to get close enough to people to tell them the truth."

"You got close enough to me and I believe you." She said. I didn't have a response to that. What could I say? She was right; I did get close to her. Actually, over the past few years, I was able to become buddies with a few good people. "You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be."

"Thanks, Bonni."

"You're welcome. Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight? I don't think I have the energy to make it back to my own room."

"Go ahead. You can sleep on the bed and I'll float like I normally do," I told her as I did just that. I wasn't able to stay in the air for long, though, as she pulled me by my hair to the bed. "What're you doing?"

"I thought it would be more comfortable for you if you could sleep without subconsciously concentrating on floating. Maybe you could relax more."

Bonni draped an arm over my stomach to make sure I wouldn't float up during the night. It was actually pretty comfortable to be sleeping like this, so I wasn't going to complain. She had fallen asleep quickly and I decided I might as well follow her example.

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**So that was chapter 2. Review and tell me how you feel about it :) I'll try to upload more chapters as quickly as I can, but my schedule is becoming a mess. I need to do things for my parents, then church, and finally I need to start getting ready for school again. But even with all that, I'm determined to post another chapter soon.**


	3. Chapter 3: Lemongrabs And A Clue

"Bonnibel, wake up." I softly said to the sleeping girl. She was cuddled into my right side and I really didn't want to wake her up, but my leg was burning. It had escaped from underneath the covers last night and now the rising sun's rays were cooking it.

"Bonni, please, wake up," I tried again. This time I was greeted with a mumbled 'five more minutes' before I decided to give up on waking her. The only way to save my leg without being rude was to transform into a bat. So that's what I did.

It was dark underneath the covers so I made myself comfortable and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, that's when Bonni decided to roll over. Right on to me. In my current form, she was heavy, way too heavy. She was crushing me. I had to think fast before she actually did crush me and find a way to get her off. I did the only thing I could think of and sunk a claw into her back. That woke her up.

"Ow, what was that for!" She groaned as she sat up and looked at me.

"I tried to wake you up earlier when my leg was being fried but you didn't want to get up. When I turn into a bat and try to go back to sleep, you almost crush me to death with your weight. There was no other way. You know, you're a hard sleeper Bonni. It takes a lot to wake you, doesn't it?"

"Not normally. I usually have no problem with waking myself up. Now that you've done that for me I might as well get to work."

"Are we going to go investigate someone else today?"

"We can't. The Lemongrabs are supposed to be visiting today."

"Do you want to ask them about P-bot then? I know one of them has tried to take your place before, like that time you were a kid again. Maybe one of them could have done it?"

"I highly doubt that since they now have citizens of their own. You can ask if you want to though."

I watched her walk out and head towards her room. The Lemongrabs were two guys that I didn't want to deal with. Their voices hurt my ears and nothing was ever good enough for them. They were definitely not people I dealt with often.

The Lemongrabs showed up around noon. I was still in my room when they came in, but with my hearing, it didn't matter. Their shouts of 'unacceptable!' were not muffled by the distance between us. I could feel a headache forming already.

When I went in to see them, Bonni was still there, and she looked as irritated as I felt. She was arguing with them about some royal junk which I didn't care for. I just wanted to get this over with.

"Hey, Lemon heads, what do you guys know about Bonni's robot?" I ask them. The quicker I questioned them, the quicker I could get away from them.

"What Robot!" of course he responded with a shout. I wonder why they talk that way. They're too loud.

"The one that looks exactly like her. The one that she sent off with some suitor named Braco."

"I know not of such a thing! Show me this robot!" He shouted while looking between me and Bonni. The other Lemongrab was shaking his head in agreement.

"Nevermind. If you don't know then you're good."

That was it for me. My ears were in enough pain. If he didn't know, then he didn't know. No reason for me to hang around him any longer then I need to. Bonni will show him the robot if she wants to. I'm going back to the room.

"Show us the robot!" Both Lemongrabs spoke at the same time. The only way to shut them up was to give them what they wanted. Bonni sighed as she led them to the lab and explained the situation. Once they got what they wanted, they were ready to head back to their kingdom. _Good, I hope they never come back while I'm still here, _I thought as I watched them leave through a window. I don't think there will be a day that I'll ever want their company.

"Well, that's three people down, huh? Ice King and the Lemongrabs didn't have anything to do with P-bot before she came back. They didn't even know she was out there," Bonni stated as she came up to me.

"Yep. Gotta admit that I'm glad it wasn't one of those two. They are annoying."

"But that means that it was someone else that we haven't thought of. It couldn't have been anyone from the Candy Kingdom; Ice king is out; the Lemongrabs are out; who else do we know that wants me gone?"

"You tell me. It has to be one of your enemies since mine don't usually attack people that I know."

"I'm going to look through P-bot's memories again. There has to be something that I missed."

We go into her lab and this time I choose to help her look. It was all pretty boring for the most part. Starting from the moment she was activated, most of her memories were of her and Braco. There was a weird audio clip though.

"Hey, Bonni. Come listen to this."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It's a voice, but I've never heard it before. Just listen."

I played the clip again for her. She scrunched up her face in concentration, then she messed with some buttons. She told me that she was trying to isolate the voice from all the background noise. Once she got what she wanted, she replayed the clip.

_"-to find it and bring it back to me. Do you understand?"_

"Find what?" Bonni mumbled to herself. Whoever this was, they were looking for something. _Great, so we're back where we started. Anyone could have sent P-bot here. Bonni owns a lot of things. It will be impossible to just pick out one thing this person could want and track them down, _I thought. Even with this clip, we were getting nowhere closer to finding this person.

"Let's call it a night, Bonni. We'll do some more searching tomorrow. You need to rest before you wear yourself out. Let's go," I told her as I led her to her room. I made sure she was tucked in before leaving. Tonight I planned to do some investigating of my own. And I knew just who to start with; I just hope he's still where I left him.

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**First off, I just want to give a huge thanks to the people that favorited/followed some of my stories. That made me feel better about myself. It's been a rough day so far, and it's only just starting really. Anyway, does anyone want to take a guess as to who Marceline is going to see? It's really easy if you think about it. Oh and please don't forget to leave a review :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Ash Knows But Won't Tell

"Hey, babe, I knew you'd come back. Couldn't live without me, huh?" the jerk said. I flew all the way over to his place from the Candy Castle, just to hear that as soon as I land on the ground.

"Shut it, Ash. I'm only here to ask you a question then I'm gone," I said. Ash is my ex-boyfriend. I haven't liked him since he sold my Hambo to that witch. I don't know why he keeps thinking that I'll come back to him, but he needs a serious reality check. "What do you know about Bubblegum's robot?"

"Bubblegum? You mean that super pink chick you used to hang around? You're friends with her again? Babe, I thought I told you that I don't want you to hang with nerds like her."

"First off, I'm not your babe. Secondly, I'll hang with anyone I want; whenever I want. Now answer the question before I leave you in a worse state than I did the last time we were together."

"Feisty today, aren't we? But, if you want me to answer, you have to do something for me first."

"Something like what?"

"Well, I get hungies at eight. It is almost eight now. How about you get in there and whip me up a sandwich. You still remember how I like them right?"

I wanted to beat this jerk to a bloody pulp. I wanted to do that so badly, but I needed answers more. Sacrifices must be made sometimes. "One sandwich then you'll tell me everything you know, and you better know some real important stuff."

Fifteen minutes and one eaten sandwich later, we're in his kitchen having a staring contest to see who will crack first. He shrugs his shoulders before beginning his story. "I think I know why you're here," he starts.

"Get to the point. I don't have all night, you know."

"Well, you're pink friend should have thought about that before she sent off her little robot. Let me guess, something's wrong with it?"

"Yea, but do you know who it might have come into contact with while it was around?"

"Well, there was that one, horrible looking guy it was always with…."

"Who else?"

"That I can't say. I will tell you this, if you can find her, you might find something else too."

"Her?" I asked. So he did know who was behind this after all, but I need more information than just a gender.

"Yea, it's a woman. You'll hate her when you see her," he laughed.

"Why would I hate her? Do I know her?"

"You could say that. Now that's all I'm going to tell you. You better go home before the sun rises. We wouldn't want you turning into a pile of ashes now, would we?"

"Whatever," I left after that. So I know that the culprit is a woman, but how do I know her? Why would I hate her? That doesn't matter right now. I need to get back to the castle and let Bonni know what I found out.

I had a few good hours left of night so I flew back to the castle at a casual pace. There hasn't been much time lately for me to enjoy myself and take in the scenery. With all the stress of the situation weighing on me, I could use a little time to myself. The air was warm and gentle against my skin. It was relaxing me as I made my way back.

Taking the opportunity that I had, I looked at all the places I was flying over. I saw my cave, still as undisturbed as ever; then there was Finn and Jake's place. It's been a while since I've seen the two heroes. Now that I think about it, it's weird that Bonni doesn't have them helping us with the search. I guess there is a reason that they aren't, but they could probably be a lot of help.

Passed their place was the grasslands. This place was vast, green, and full of life. It was a prettier site to look at during the day, but at night it was alright, too. I landed on one of the many hills that were there and lay out in the grass. The ground was cool and moist. Dew drops were beginning to form. The sun will be up in maybe two hours at this rate. I need to go.

Since I was in the grasslands, I was pretty close to the castle. It didn't take me long to get there and slip into Bonni's room. The princess is still sleep, but that's normal since she isn't nocturnal like me. Peppermint should be in here a little after dawn to get her up though. _I guess I might as well make myself comfortable,_ I thought. If I was going to wait for her to get up her, it wouldn't do me any good to just stand in the same spot all night watching her. That would be weird to explain if she saw me.

I had a few options at the moment. I could sleep at her desk, in her closet, under her bed, and of course, just slip into the covers with her. That last option was what I picked. I changed into my bat for and quietly slipped under the sheets behind her. I made sure to leave enough space between us so that she wouldn't be able to roll over me or anything. After making sure I was safe from sunlight and possibly being crushed, I dozed off.

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**I know I promised to put this out like two weeks ago. There is a good reason that I hadn't though. I had to go pack for my ten day trip to Puerto Rico (needed to see some family) and I went shopping for school supplies. I start school in two days! Senior year! Yay!** **Anyway, the trip was fun, but I had no internet connection whatsoever. I was cut off from the world for ten days (not counting the two days I spent traveling) with no laptop, and my phone is crap. I made it home Thursday, spent yesterday recovering, and finished up on this chapter today.**

**But enough about me; what did you think about the chapter? I feel like I could have made it a lot better, but I'm exhausted. So, post a review, PM me, whatever...I just want to know your thoughts ^_^**


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